Not Without Him
by Lunatic Belle
Summary: A short, sweet and sad story about Zack and Aerith.


**Hey guys! This is the first story I've ever written! I hope you'll like it. **

Not Without Him. 

It was the last day they shared with each other. She would never ever forget that day, no matter what, that was what she told, no, _promised_ herself.

Zack had finally got a day off and he kept the promise he made a couple of weeks ago. He took her out of the city, out of the smog, out of the oppressive atmosphere of Midgar's slums to show her the sea and the sky she used to be so afraid of. With Zack by her side the sky was not scary at all, though; it was actually quite pretty with its different shades of blue, just like his beautiful eyes.

The sky was almost clear, except for a few cirrus clouds, which were slowly moving to the south.

"Like white, comfy pillows. They are looking so peaceful and leisured and so _free_," Aerith thought and forgot the last bits of fear inside her, such a sky wouldn't swallow her. Maybe it was the sky's peaceful appearance, or Zack's confidence rubbed off on her, but more than likely it was Zack's saying, that he would protect her from anything, even from the falling sky, if needs be. From then on the sky would remind her of Zack, it was blue like his eyes, but sometimes clouds were hiding it and she was unable to see through them clearly.

Her glance wandered off to the sun, which sat high in the sky. She blinked; soon it would go to the west and sink into the ocean. Aerith had to squint her eyes twice to regain her full vision.

They were walking down the beach by the water barefoot; tiny little waves crashing at their feet. Zack wore his uniform except for his belt and armour, carrying his boots in one hand holding her hand gently with the other. A gentle breeze played with the seam of her dress, tickling her calves. She stole a glance at him, smiling at the dreamy look in his eyes while he gazed into the distance. They walked in silence most of the time, watching other couples and families who enjoyed the sunny day at the beach. Children were chasing each other around, splashing water at each other or building sandcastles. Some children looked scared or curious at Zack's mako-infused eyes, which labelled him as SOLDIER, but he did not care, after all, he was proud to be a part of the ShinRa Company.

Seeing all the couples cuddling and kissing obviously made Zack feel uncomfortable. He looked at her with an uneasy expression on his face.

"What are you staring at?" she asked him confused. She had never seen that look on his usually carefree face before.

"Uhm…" he cleared his throat and asked "Want a kiss, Aer?"

She giggled. That was so unfamiliar; Zack was usually loud, carefree and confident, not unsure like this. A blush was creeping across his face, getting redder with every moment she would not answer. Aerith thought it was cute.

"Don't ask, silly!" she chuckled.

He tried to hide his embarrassment with mock offence.

"Just do it" she said, pushing herself up on her toes to give him a quick peck on the lips. She turned around giggling, and made an attempt to run away, leaving a short surprised Zack behind. His reaction was fast then; he grabbed her gently by the wrist, letting his boots fall down at the same time, and pulled her into an embrace.

"You're unbelievable", he mumbled into her hair, "Seriously."

A little shocked by his fast reaction, she looked up into his amazing blue eyes when he bent down to kiss her softly. After they broke their kiss she pulled herself close to his well built, muscular body, wondering how strong and dangerous he must be for his opposers, but how gentle he was while being with her. She had _never_ been this close to him before. Closing her eyes, she inhaled his scent, never to forget it again.

"I love you", she whispered to his chest, so quiet that she thought the waves would have drowned it. Her fingers wandered from his shoulder blades to his chest, feeling his muscles contract under her touch. Finally Aerith pushed him back softly.

"C'mon let's go!" Zack said suddenly with growing confidence and took her hand again, leading her to a small dune, where they eventually sat down. They sat there in silence, looking at the horizon, which slowly turned to different shades of red, yellow and orange, just enjoying each others company. The sight was incredibly beautiful, she hadn't seen anything that compared to this natural spectacle before. Neither sky nor sun was hidden by clouds now, everything was clear to see. She knew that they had to go home soon, and that meant Zack had to go again as of him leaving to another mission made her sad and worried at the same time, but she knew that this was Zack's dream; to be a SOLDIER First Class, to protect the peace, but most importantly, he wanted to become a hero. She sighed and looked down at her feet, which she was burying in the warm sand.

"Aerith? What is it?" Zack asked concerned. She didn't know if she ought tell him or just keep quiet, but she decided to do so anyways.

"It's just that you… that you have to leave so soon again… I – I just wish we could spend more time together…" she confessed sadly, not able to look at Zack.

He pulled her close, kissing her lightly on top of her head. "Oh, don't worry! I'll be back in no time, you won't even notice I wasn't there. And when I'm back, I'll take my holiday and we can go to the beach again or do whatever you want!" Zack promised her with glowing eyes and the trademark grin she loved so much, but somewhere deep in his sky blue eyes she could see clouds, or doubts.

"If you say so…" she murmured sounding unconvinced. She had a bad feeling about the upcoming mission. She couldn't nail it down, but Nibelheim was so far away and Zack wasn't as carefree and energetic as usual.

Strong arms surrounded her slim waist pulling her into a short, sweet kiss "You worry too much, Aerith, trust me. I'll come back, I promise." She closed her eyes returning the embrace, hoping that he could keep this promise as well.

He walked her home late that night, trying to cheer her up with jokes and tricks, but she could tell he noticed her fake smiles. Parting after a date had never been an awkward situation for the both of them, but they knew they would see each other in a few days; this time neither of them wanted to leave the other, but Zack had to get some sleep before his departure to Nibelheim. He bent down to kiss her passionately, holding her in a tight embrace.

"Good night, Zack" she breathed and kissed him again.

"Good night, Aerith" he answered in a mixture of cheerfulness and sadness.

"I'll call you tomorrow". Smiling his cocky but charming smile he turned around and waved her good-bye.

"Good night…" she repeated and walked into her small house ready for her mother's lecture on SOLDIER people and coming home late.

That was about four years ago and she had not seen him since that day. Her mother told her he might have found another girl and givenup on her, but she could not believe it and waited, treasuring her precious memories of Zack. The way he held her hand or laughed her fears away; the way he grinned, when was proud, or the look in his eyes, when he visited her the first time after a mission. She would never forget it.

Now she was here again; same beach, same time. Even though the same warm colours painted the sky, the same warm sand covered her feet, maybe even the same couples were cuddling and kissing by the waterside, nothing _felt_ the same now. Not without _him_.

She sighed and got up from the sand, but not without one last look at the calm sea and the setting sun as she turned to walk home.

* * *

Many thanks to my wonderful beta Hope (aka GoldenShinyWireofHope)


End file.
